After Seven
by solute
Summary: Having lived there for more than a year, Farmer Violet knows how to deal with the monsters that roam her farm at night. She's kept it a secret from everyone, even her closest friends, to protect them. Up until this point.
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1

I take my box full of saplings and pay Pierre. From behind me, I hear Sam calling.

"Hey, Vi. You gotta come check out this thing that Seb caught."

Abigail, who so kindly offered to help me plant my trees, responds to him with a "pffft." But we agree. I thank Pierre and we head outside, to find Sebastian holding a little yellow tube. As we get closer to him, the tube seems to have… Hairs, maybe? And it's wiggling. Disgusting.

"Disgusting," says Abigail.

"That's nasty. What is it?" I ask through a chortle.

Sebastian displays the thing. "It's a friggin _sea cucumber._ What the fuck, right?"

Sam laughs loudly, pointing at the wriggling ocean-dwelling tube. "What the fuck _even_." Then he takes it and puts it in my box.

"You want me to cook it?" I ask, all serious. Sam nods his head really fast.

The four of us head back to my place. These guys were the closest to my age in this town when I moved in, so we kind of clicked the best. Sam likes the same kind of music as me, Abigail likes the same video games. And Sebastian likes to smoke with me when I'm feeling down. I've come to really appreciate them. Especially in times like this, where we do weird shit like cook sea cucumbers.

We get to my cabin and the guys immediately occupy the sofa and turn the TV to _Queen of Sauce_. I only get like 4 channels in the valley, and this is their favorite one for some reason.

"I'm just gonna bake it, is that alright?" I call to them from the kitchen. They don't respond.

Abigail giggles. "That'll be perfect. They aren't picky."

"Do we have to kill it first? It's still alive, right?"

"Oh, Yoba. I don't know. It would die in the oven."

"Well. I mean. _Yes._ But I'm not gonna kill something in an oven. That just seems cruel."

"Just let it dry out. Like any other fish," Sebastian chimes in. Abigail explains to me in detail that letting it 'dry out' and putting it in the oven would essentially do the same thing. Either way, it suffocates. But in heat, it would suffocate faster. Hearing this, I am filled with guilt and grief for this tiny sea-bottom being.

I set the creature on a pan on top of the stove, and make a decision.

"Alright nerds, I'm going to leave this here while Abby and I go plant these trees. Sebastian, I'm going to heat the oven up. Please do not let the temperature exceed 450 degrees," I state clearly.

"Gotcha," Sebastian complies, "don't let Sam fuck with the oven."

I grab the box with the saplings. As soon as I turn around, I see Sam jolt for the oven in my peripherals. The last thing that happens before I shut the door behind me is Sebastian lunging for Sam's legs in a tackle attempt. Abby and I laugh loudly most of the way down to the field I have prepared for the trees.

"So this is gonna be a little orchard?" she asks.

"Yeah. Just a baby one. Only six trees," I reply. I dug the holes yesterday, so all we really have to do is insert the saplings, bury the roots, and give them a little water. We finish this pretty quickly. Abigail tells me about how she's planted trees with her dad before around the town square. She's basically a pro.

We head back inside and wash our hands. To my surprise, nothing has burned down. The sea cucumber has stopped wiggling, so I gut it and season it with some Miracle Blend. I have no idea what it's going to taste like, but Miracle Blend has never let me down. Then, in the oven it goes. It's about 2:30 PM now. This'll be an interesting lunch.

"Vi, do you have any stuff for salad?" Sam calls from the sofa. I affirm that I do, and grab some ingredients out from the fridge. I lay them out on the counter and start chopping up some lettuce when Sam rushes over and grabs my wrist. "No, you don't have to make them! Let me do it, please," he says. He seems sincere, so I back away and let him continue chopping.

"Thanks, dude. Why though?" I ask, impressed.

"You always make the food when we hang out. I can at least make salads for us this time," he replies.

"Awww, isn't that sweet," Abigail coos. I don't say so, but I think it's incredibly sweet.

The sea cucumber comes out. After a prayer that I requested be said over the defenseless meal we have, we dig in. I think it tastes fine; not that different from any other fish. But Sam _raves_ about it. He loves it, and insists that we have a 'sea cucumber night' any time one of us catches one. We all laugh, and unanimously agree.

Then, out comes the wine. I have a ton of it saved up from the fruits I've been fermenting over the past year. We easily cruise through three bottles of peach wine by 5:00.

We're sitting in a circle on my living room floor playing truth or dare when the clock strikes 6:45. "Alright you guys," I say, stumbling on my way to standing up. "You know the rules. Gotta be out of here by seven."

"Vi come on, that's such a dumb rule. The party is just starting. I was gonna dare Abby to snort the cucumber residue," whines Sebastian.

"What the fuck, I would never do that, you dill hole," Abigail laughs.

"We can move the party somewhere else. But we just can't be here," I explain.

Sam looks uncomfortable. "We def can't move it to my place. My mom would literally poison my breakfast if I brought drunk people home."

Abigail says on another night she could host, but not tonight. It's Saturday, so there'll be a temple service in the morning, and we can't be messy and hungover around that.

"And we know there's no room at Seb's house. Bummer," I say. "We could go to the saloon?"

"NO dear Yoba, my dad goes there Saturday nights! I do not want him to see me drunk. We can just call it a night. Next Friday, we can get turnt at my place," Abigail preaches, standing up and making her way to the door. Sebastian follows her, offering to walk her home.

"You coming, Sam?" Sebastian asks from the doorway.

"I'm just gonna help Vi clean up. See you guys tomorrow!" Sam replies. The duo leaves.

I catch Sam's eye and tell him he has to leave, too. "You know the rules, dude."

"I know, I know," he slurs, finishing off a fourth bottle. "But Vi, I can't go home like this. Vincent would _hate_ me. Actually _I_ would hate me for being around him like this. I can't go home. Not yet. Is it cool if I just sober up for a bit?"

I swipe the bottle from him. "Okay first, stop drinking. Second. I'm mad at you. You didn't think this through. We've been hanging out for over a year. You all know you can't be here after dark."

He looks so sad. "I know, Violet, I know. But I don't get _why_. Can you just tell me why?"

"HA. You wouldn't believe me if I did." I start. I've never told anyone about what happens at my house after dark. It's dangerous, because no one would take it seriously. And then someone would get hurt. I'm not willing to risk that. But… Now I'm drunk. And I tell truths when I'm drunk. An unfortunate setup for when we play truth or dare, but. No one has asked me about this in a long time.

Sam raises his eyebrows high. "Bet," he says through a hiccup. He scootches closer to me. "Tell me, Violet. What's the secret?"

"Please stop being dumb," I plead, pushing him. "You can sober up here. Fine. But you have to stay in my room."

"But then we can't watch _Queen of Sauce_!"

The sun hasn't gone down yet. There's still time. "We can finish this episode. But then we have to move to my bedroom."

He gets this dumbass grin that makes his dimples show. "Finally some Sam and Vi action," he says, fist pumping.

I snort. "In your dreams."

He does help me clean up the dishes, and then we sit back down for the rest of the episode. Soon after it ends, my dog, Peen, comes into the cabin through his dog door. I glance at the window. Sure enough, the sun has set. Time to move. I help Sam get up and we move into my room. I close the blinds on the little window. Nothing to see out there.

My bed's a queen size, perfect for me and my giant dog, who takes up space similar to how Sam decides to. I pick up my ukulele and start strumming, and he sits up and starts singing. Even drunk and flat, his voice is pretty clean. And smooth. I start to drift away with the song, but I'm pulled back to reality when Peen sits down facing the window. I feel my face flush, and my palms get sweaty, but I keep playing to keep Sam distracted. Any moment, it could happen.

But he notices. "Hey, Violet. What's wrong?" he asks, moving closer to the end I'm sitting on.

I set my uke down. "Okay. Sam. I have to tell you. And you have to listen to me, because it's important. Alright?" I announce, sobering up fast. I grab his shoulders and lock into his gaze. "You must take this seriously."

"What is it?" He leans forward and rests a hand on my knee. I ignore it.

"Sam, there's…" I stutter. I have no idea what his response will be. "There's monsters. When the sun goes down. They come out and take things. So you must stay inside."

He chuckles quietly, which I'm thankful for. "Dude, no way. You're trying to fuck with me. That's actually lame. Monsters? Here?" He looks around the room. It takes him a minute before he spots the blade I have standing up next to my bed. It's an average sized, hard, black sword I picked up in the mines during the past winter. He does a double take, and slowly returns his gaze to me. "The fuck is that?"

Peen whines, and there's a loud tap on the window. Sam moves to open the blinds, but I grab his waist and sit him back down. " _Do not!_ " I hiss. "Do not open the windows. Do not open the door. I will take care of this. Understand? You're safe as long as you're in this room. I swear."

"Holy shit. Okay. What was that?" he stammers.

"Probably a shadowcrow. No big deal. I'm just gonna go make sure it doesn't mess up my crops-"

"Are you insane? If you're safe in this room, why would you leave? Don't leave, dude."

I didn't notice right away, but Sam is holding my arm tightly and standing over me. We just freeze for a minute, and search each other's eyes. I open my mouth to explain, but a thud against the door interrupts me. I grab the sword and head for the door, despite Sam's protests.

"Man, I'll be fine, I deal with these all the ti-"

Before I can finish my sentence of confidence, the door bursts open and I'm swept up by the shadowcrow's hardened straw arms. I drop my sword in the doorway, and am carried off towards the forest. I can hear Sam shouting and Peen barking from inside. Sam lifts my sword and examines it, and I yell back for him to put it down and lock the door.

 _I can fight this thing with no sword,_ I think to myself. _It's just straw and burlap. Zombified. Easy._ I deadweight myself, which causes the thing to drop to the ground. From there, I deliver blows to its head, but it won't let go of my legs. I keep punching and writhing to try to break free, to no avail. I scan the surrounding area for a stick or a large, possibly sharp stone. Finding nothing, I turn back to the creature, only to find Sam bearing down on it with my blade. He chops right through it, and it bursts into dust, leaving behind tiny fibers.

I smile up at him, and move to stand, but one of my legs feels funny.

"Oh fuck," Sam gasps. "Oh shit. Oh no." He releases the sword, which is dug into my thigh. Fantastic.

He starts panicking. "Hey, no, bud, it's okay!" I say, gritting my teeth. In all actuality, it's not okay, and it hurts like a _bitch._ But one of us has to stay cool.

"I fucking _chopped_ you, I'm so fucking sorry," he starts hyperventilating. I realize I'm not gonna get much help from him at the moment, so I pull the blade out myself. It immediately pools blood down my leg.

"It's fine Sam, we just have to get back inside-"

"Sweet Yoba, I'm so sorry, oh Yoba, fuck me, I just-"

I grab on to his pant leg and yell, "SAM!" He stops freaking out and finds my eyes. "We have to go inside. _Now._ "

He nods, and helps me limp back to the cabin. "You're literally leaving a trail of blood," he whimpers. I sigh.

We get back inside, and after locking the door I slump on the sofa. I instruct Sam to get me a towel, some hydrogen peroxide, and sewing supplies from my cabinets. He brings them over and sits in front of me.

He eyes my wound. "I don't know if I can stitch it. I might throw up."

I laugh. Why do I laugh? Probably blood loss. I actually want to cry, or pray, or both. But I laugh. "Samson. Do not worry. I can definitely do it from here." He takes a seat next to me and turns the television to the _Fortune Teller_ channel. Apparently, the spirits are not pleased today. _No shit_.

My pants have to come off, at least part of the way, if I want to cover this thing properly. There's a big hole in my jeans now, but it's fine because ripped is trending. I unbutton them and try to push them down, but my knuckles sink into the wound as I do. I reach out to Sam. He would appear to be watching the show at first glance, but he doesn't blink. His energy seems blank, or frozen.

"Could you please help me? Forget about the fact that you're taking my pants off, I just need these down a little bit," I plead.

He turns to me slowly and nods, all sober. He lifts both the front and back of my jeans away from my leg as he slides the denim down. Our eyes meet, and his expression says _Is this fine? I'm so sorry. Is this okay?_

I pause. Might as well just scrap them.

"Can you just do the whole thing?" I say quietly. He nods again, and removes the remainder of my jeans without breaking eye contact. I know he's trying to avoid letting his eyes wander, and I super appreciate it.

After my gash is dressed and the blood is wiped from the floor, Sam carries me to my room. He sets me in bed and turns out all the lights, per my request. It's dark, but the moonlight peeking through the windows is light enough to see still. He sits down next to me, and I shake my head in disapproval.

"What?" he says, exasperated.

"I told you to stay in my room," I mumble. The combination of wine and blood loss is making me awfully sleepy.

"Fat chance. And let that… That…"

"Shadowcrow."

"Right. That thing, just let it get you? No way." He shifts around and swings his legs up on the bed. "I killed it. You saw."

"Yeah, and then you slashed my-"

"I know, I know, I slashed your leg. Totally my bad. I'm still really sorry, I feel awful."

I shift my legs, looking for comfort. No success. "Don't be sorry. You did save me. I'm just giving you shit." I'm beyond groggy. "That was actually kind of romantic."

"Well. No. It was not. But it's cute that you think so." He brushes the bangs away from my forehead. He looks so serene in the faint white light that's sneaking in, with his blue eyes and adorable round nose. For a moment, I forget about the flaming pain in my thigh. Until he leans in to me and presses a hand into the bandage. I cry out, and clutch the blankets.

"Oh fuck, Violet, I'm the worst, I'm so sorry. For Yoba's sake…" Sam stands and helps me re-adjust to a better position. "Do you want any painkillers?"

"No, I shouldn't. The wine." I shake my head slowly.

Sam nods his. "Right. Tomorrow."

There's a gust of wind outside, and I flinch, thinking for a moment that it's another shadowcrow, or something worse. But Peen is calmly wrapped around himself at the foot of the bed, still. Maybe it's over for tonight. _May Yoba have mercy... I can't fight any more tonight._

 _ **This is my first attempt at a fanfic. I just thought the whole monsters-at-night-farm option would make for a potentially fun story. Feel free to let me know what you think/ leave suggestions! Hope you Enjoy! Thanks! 3**_


	2. Chapter 2

Morning comes in a haze. There's a note on the pillow next to me, accompanied by some ibuprofen and an unopened bottle of water. My head swims when I sit up, so I take the pills when the room stops spinning. Then I read the note; it's from Sam.

 ** _Violet,_**

 ** _I'm so so so so so sorry about last night. I swear I'll make it up to you._**

 ** _Take that ibuprofen and drink that water when you wake up. Seriously, drink a lot of water. I went home early this morning, after using your shower and borrowing some clothes… I hope that was okay. I'm sorry. I swear I'll return them clean!_**

 ** _Talk to you later!_**  
 ** _\- Sam_**

 ** _P.S. I promise I didn't look at your panties._**  
 ** _P.P.S. I did accidentally see a bra. I'm so sorry. I'm the worst._**

He's really beating himself up over the whole incident. Honestly, I'm not even mad. I don't know where the shadowcrows go at night, and I didn't want to find out yesterday. He probably saved my life… How could I be mad?

I want to call him and tell him this, but when I put pressure on my leg to stand, there's a sharp pain that forces me back down. I try again, this time focusing my weight on my good leg, and hobble over to my cell phone.

Before I dial for Sam, I decide to text Shane, asking if he'll help me with my hens for a few days. It doesn't take him long to reply, and he agrees to help in the mornings before his shifts at Joja mart. He was actually one of my first friends when I first started settling myself in Pelican Town. I'm pretty introverted, so I did not want to approach any strangers at first. But I was familiar with beer, and spent a lot of time with it in the first few weeks. That's basically how I got to know Shane. He's also a fan of beer. And he would listen to me when I talked about my grandpa and the farm. I was sad and nervous, but so was he. We related to each other in that way, I guess.

It did get weird sometimes. Before I found my Obsidian Edge blade in the mines, I just had a cheap rusty sword that an adventurer gave me, and defeating the shadowcrows and slimes at night was not so easy. Especially when Shane came over and they would interrupt our _Queen of Sauce_ and chill time by banging on the windows and mudding up my porch. It would take some time, but I always got them. Shane swore to never tell anyone about them, but wasn't afraid of them himself. Just annoyed. They seemed to peak in aggressiveness when he was around, and eventually he just stopped wanting to come over. Which was probably for the best. He was a fun distraction for a while, but I think we both knew we had to stop ignoring our problems and work on ourselves. We're cool, though. Or at least cool enough to where he's still eager to help me out with my chickens.

Then I call Sam. He picks up very quickly and starts talking very excitedly.

"Oh, Vi! I'm so happy you're feeling better. I know you're not a hundred percent yet, but don't you worry! I'm gonna help you get there…"

While he goes on, I kind of space out and scan the house. Peen is curled up on the sofa, which has a wrinkled blanket and pillow set on it. Sam must have slept there. It hits me that he's the first person to stay the night at my farm. And he probably will never want to do so again.

"Violet? Are you listening to me?" he prods over the phone.

"What- yeah, sorry, I just zoned out."

"Ugh. Okay. I'll tell you my plan again. Sebastian is gonna get you on his bike. Then we get you checked out at Harvey's. Then we go to Seb's for some _Solarion Chronicles._ What do you think?"

Through a short laugh, I say, "Okay, Sam. Sounds great."

"Perfect. I'll see you shortly." He smiles when he says it, I can hear it. Butterflies break loose in my stomach.

Upon his arrival, Sebastian helps me finish watering my flowers. I figured out a sprinkler system for my crops, but I like to do the flowers myself. He eases me onto his motorcycle with him and we make for Harvey's. Sam is leaning against the door outside when we pull up.

"Thanks, Sebastian," Sam praises with a pat to Seb's back. I thank him, too.

Harvey is slumped into the front counter and jolts upright when we walk in. He's the only certified doctor we have in town. He's training Sebastian's half sister, Maru, to be a nurse. Those two are the medical team here. Harvey is kind and sweet and does his job very well, but tends to deflate in social settings.

"Oh, rough break Violet," he begins, "Sam told me a bit about the accident."

I turn to Sam, bewildered. He shakes his head and mouths "scythe". I nod. I'm a little pissed, but also thankful that he didn't just spill the beans about my farm being haunted or whatever. It's best that it stays under wraps, so people don't get freaked out.

"Yeah, just hit some really tough weeds. My scythe got me good," I utter slowly.

Harvey nods firmly, but loses color in his face as we talk about it. "Let's just take a look see, then," he mutters hurriedly.

He peels back my bandage. What is revealed soars straight over everyone's head.

"Vi, what… What is that?" Sebastian gasps. Sam looks closer, but doesn't seem to have any words. Very out of character for him.

Harvey's face is hard, and matches the color of his white latex gloves. He's also speechless. I trace along the rip in my leg. It's no longer inflamed or bloody. Where it once was red, my skin is greying. And inside the cut is smooth, glassy blackness that is tough and cool to the touch.

"It looks like obsidian," I say plainly, feeling dumb about how casual it sounds.

Sam audibly gulps. "Right, but why is it… How is it…" He pauses. "Does it hurt?"

I tap it lightly with my fingers, making Harvey cringe. "Doesn't hurt to touch. It's real stiff trying to move, though." My guess is that I'm calm because my brain literally does not know how to react to the fact that part of my leg has become stone.

"I'm sorry to say, but I don't really know what I can do for this," Harvey sighs, standing up slowly. He loses his balance for a moment before finding uprightness.

Finally, I notice myself shaking. Fear. I feel so much fear. It's paralyzing. But again, my words come out with a calm; "That's alright. I will figure it out. Just please don't tell anyone else about this. I am rather embarrassed."

Harvey reminds me of the doctor-patient confidentiality policy he proudly implements, and recommends that I meet with the wizard Rasmodius. He writes up a description form for me that reads " _Wound similar to rock, unsure of treatment,"_ and hands it to me as we head out the door.

The three of us make the trek out to the eerie tower in the southwest forest that houses the fabled wizard. Rasmodius and I have actually become decent friends over the past year, and when we reach him, he welcomes us inside with a smile.

"Young Violet and company," he beams, "please, take a seat. I know what drew you here." He gives a nod to my leg. "Poor dear."

I chuckle nervously. "It doesn't hurt much, it just. Well. It feels exactly how it looks. Like a stone."

"Makes sense." Rasmodius swoops over to a shelf and thumbs through some books. "You've been injured by the Obsidian Edge, a blade smithed only for magical combat. You could think of this as a curse, sort of. Your wound becomes obsidian, and hardens the tissue around it. This will spread up and down your body until you resemble an obsidian vein, if left untreated."

Sam flinches, his hand jumping to my shoulder. His grip isn't tight, but he's shaking. So am I. Sebastian speaks up; "How quickly does it spread?" I also have that question buzzing around, but I can't seem to vocalize my thoughts.

"It is slow moving. While this means you have time to obtain the antidote, I would not procrastinate." Rasmodius locks eyes with me, an old book open in his hands. "You must bring me four solar essences, an obsidian stone, and a ghost fish. Make sure you are prepared to take on the obstacles." His eyes dart from Sam to Sebastian, and back to me. "And add the purple haired girl to your team."

After meeting with Rasmodius, we recollect in Sebastian's room with Abigail. She gets super pissed when we tell her everything that happened.

"Sam, you _dope,_ " she starts in on him, "if you would have just left with us-"

"I could have died!" I raise my voice over her. "It was a total accident that was part of a maneuver that saved me. Sam is not at fault here. And we have a solution. It's going to be fine."

She settles down and apologizes to Sam, though he confesses that he's still mad at himself for it. Sebastian makes a list of the food we should pack, and Abigail adds to it the weapons we'll need for the depths of the mines. She confided in us a while ago that she trained herself in swordsmanship to fight monsters there. This is her area of expertise, even more so than mine. We end up agreeing that in two days, we would get together and depart to get the antidote. That's enough time to gather the essentials and cover our bases in the town to avoid suspicion.

We do get into some _Solarion Chronicles_ , and my character does the worst. I'm so distracted. I appreciate that my friends are trying to supply some normalcy before things get weird in the next couple of days, but I can't shake the anxiety. There's a lump in my throat the whole time, like I'm going to cry. I really don't want to though, so I swallow it and play on. Crying now won't help. We have to enter this task with confidence.

 _We can do this. We can do this._

Sam insists on walking me home, and I don't object. As soon as we leave the house, he says "Hop on my back. You don't have to walk." This, I protest. I'm not a very big person, but I'm still heavy, and it's a hike back to my place. But he counter-protests, and I know I'm not going to win. His sweetness cannot be beat.

We don't talk much as he walks. I rest my head on the back of his while trying to hold some of my own weight. Thoughts begin swarming me of the setting sun, and the attacks that I won't be able to fend off at home. Sam seems totally unphased walking down the mountain. Maybe he hasn't thought of it yet. Then I feel a terrible anxiety over what could happen to me and my best friends in the next couple of days, all because I thought I could fight a shadowcrow drunk. This is when the tears come.

I cry softly into his hood, unsure of whether or not he'll notice. It's beyond help now, though. Really, this is my fault. Abby wants to blame Sam, but I'm the one who invited them all over for wine. I'm the one who allowed Sam to stay. I blew it.

Sam starts walking down some stairs, which is alarming to me, as there are no stairs leading down to my house off the mountain. I wipe my eyes and look up. We're heading into town.

"Why'd you take the long way?" I ask through a sniffle.

He turns his head to answer, and when he sees my face, flashes a look of concern. We stop in front of Pierre's and he sets me down and hugs me. I stand with my face buried in his shoulder for a minute or two, just breathing.

He pulls away and explains, "I figured this way would put us closer to your house." He gently brushes a tear off my cheek with his thumb. Around us, the streetlights begin popping on, contrasting the growing shadows and exposing the static, glassy river water. There's a moment of uncertain silence before he says, "Stay with me tonight."  
I find his eyes. They're serious, but soft. "Please," he sighs. "I can't just drop you off there. If anything happened to you, I… I… I would lose my mind. And this isn't one of those dumb things that I say when we're goofing around. I'm not flirting with you, I'm not trying to make any moves. I just need to know you're in a safe place."

"You don't think I could take those beasts out myself?" I try to joke with him.

"No, I know you could. I just…" He trails off, glancing at the ground, then returning to me. "I know you don't need protection. But the one time you did, I screwed it up. I'm not gonna let that happen again. If you really still want to go home, I'll sit out on your porch all night and take those bastards out as they come. Just please, let me do something right."

I ponder the idea. Peen is probably inside by now, safe from the monsters. He's a smart dog. Shane is taking care of my chickens early tomorrow. I could probably pay him extra to water my flowers. It would probably be safer for both of us to stay at his place… But I don't want any trouble. "What about your mom?" I inquire.

"She won't even know. She never comes in my room in the morning, and we can just leave when she heads out for the day. It'll be okay. It'll be safe. I promise."

I nod. "That sounds great, then. Thank you so much, Sam." He pulls me into another hug, and asks me to return to the piggy-back position. I comply.

He stops outside his house and signals for me to follow him to his window. Using only hand motions, he details that he's going to go inside and unlock the window for me to enter. It's a real talent of his. He might often be bad with words, but he's great with his hands.

I'm just terrified of his mom finding out and getting upset. There is one light on near the back of the house, so she's probably still up. I wonder if Sam will talk to her. She probably already hates me because she thinks I dropped an egg in her kitchen. Sam was the real culprit, but I took the fall, which was fine, but her catching me creeping into her son's bedroom would be the opposite of fine. She's such a nice lady. I don't want her to feel disrespected.

A few minutes pass and I assume he decided to talk to her. Probably smart. I was instructed to squat beneath his window until I heard three tiny taps on the glass. Roughly ten minutes pass before this happens.

Three quiet tinks, and I stand up. He's there, dimly lit by the lamp on his desk, opening the window. First he takes my shoes. Then he helps me climb through the frame with grace and silence. I'm in.

I've been in Sam's room before with Seb and Abby, but only for when they were rehearsing music. Never at night. It's kept fairly clean, save for the occasional comic book and/or shirt on the floor. His mother must have raised him to be tidy. Nice work, Jodi.  
There's a small chair in front of his desk that I take a seat in. Sam reaches under his bed and pulls out an extra pillow and a couple of blankets. He assembles them on the floor a few feet away from his bed, then makes for his dresser. "You want some pajamas?" he asks quietly.

I nod. He hands me some shorts and a t-shirt and takes his own clothes to the bathroom. I change into the new ensemble and make myself comfortable with the floor-bed. He returns, wearing some familiar looking items.

"Nice sweats," I sneer at him. They're my sweatpants. They're not _too_ small for him, but... They're borderline. "What else did you steal from me?"

He completely ignores my question. "Dude, what're you doing? You take my bed, I wanna sleep on the floor."

"No way, I'm not gonna kick you out of your bed."

"Look," he sighs, "I just washed the sheets today. It's way more comfortable than the floor. I'd much rather you sleep there; it'll be way better for your leg."

These are points I can't really argue with. But I feel a strange guilt. He's being so kind and generous to me, and I'm probably just causing him grief. There's no way he can get good sleep on the floor.

But when I start to express this, he just shakes his head. "You're not getting it, Vi." He sits down next to me. "I care about you. It would make me so happy if you'd let me do these things for you. I don't know what lies ahead, but I do know that right now, we are safe. And my bed is hella comfortable. And I want you to experience that. Just go lay in it, you'll understand the hype once you do."

I smile dumbly and use my good leg to get to his bed. It _is_ crazy comfy. I turn to face him as he's getting situated on the floor. This is different for Sam. This isn't the weird goofball memer side I met all those months ago. I'm not sure what to think of it now, but I feel so grateful. "Thank you, Sam. Really. You're so kind to do these things for me."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess I can be a softie sometimes. Don't get too used to it," he remarks, flashing an overwhelmingly adorable grin at me. "Now go to sleep, we've got work to do tomorrow." Then he claps twice, and the lamp turns off.

I scoff; "Wow. Really?"


End file.
